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Panhard
Panhard is now a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. It was also known as Panhard & Levassor. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2006. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA (after the 1974 Peugeot Citroën merger), for 40 years. The combined company now uses the Panhard name, this was decided based on studies indicating that the Panhard name had better brand recognition worldwide than the Auverland name. Panhard once built civilian cars but ceased production of those in 1968. They also produced heavy trucks and buses. Many of their military products however end up on the civilian market via third sources and as military/government surplus vehicles. Panhard also built railbuses between the wars. History Panhard was originally called Panhard et Levassor, and was established as a car manufacturing concern by René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887. Their first car (based on a Daimler engine licence), was offered in 1890. Levassor obtained his licence from a friend who already had one, Sarazin. Upon Sarazin's death in 1887, Sarazin's widow married Levassor, and the deal was cemented. Daimler and Levassor became fast friends, and shared improvements with one another. These first vehicles set many modern standards, but each was a one-off design. They used a clutch pedal to operate a chain-driven gearbox. The vehicle also featured a front-mounted radiator. An 1895 Panhard is credited with the first modern transmission. In 1891, the company built their first all-Levassor design,Georgano, p.17. a "state of the art" model: the Systeme Panhard consisted of four wheels, a front-mounted engine with rear wheel drive, and a crude sliding-gear transmission, sold at 3500 franc''s. (It would remain the standard until Cadillac introduced synchromesh in 1928.)Georgano, p.49. This was to become the standard layout for automobiles for most of the next century. The same year, Panhard shared their Daimler engine license with bicycle maker '''Armand Peugeot', who formed his own car company. In 1895, 1205 cc (74 ci) Panhards finished 1-2 in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally, one piloted solo by Levassor, for 48¾hr.The prize would go to Koechlin's Peugeot, instead, since the Panhard-Levassor had only two seats, while the rules required four. Georgano, p.20. Arthur Krebs succeeded Levassor as General Manager in 1897, and held the job until 1916. He turned the Panhard-Levassor Company into one of the largest and profitable manufacturer of automobiles before World War I. Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard developed the Panhard rod, which became used in many other types of automobiles as well. From 1925 the motors used Knight sleeve valves. That year a 4.8 litre (292ci) model set the world record for the fastest hour run, an average of 185.51 km/h (115.26 mph). Panhard also produced railbuses, including some for the metre gauge Chemin de Fer du Finistère. After World War II the company produced light cars such as the Dyna X, Dyna Z, PL 17, 24 CT and 24 BT. The company managed to get around a steel-saving government regulation forbidding new car models by making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum; the Dyna X and Z 1 had aluminum bodies. The later Dyna Z and the PL 17 bodies were steel. The styling was smooth and rounded, which stood out in any post-war parking lot. The 24 CT was a beautiful 2+2 seater; the 24 BT with a longer wheelbase had space for four. The Panhard-based Deutsch Bonnets ("DB Panhard") dominated the "Index of Performance" class at Le Mans and other small-engine racing classes. The last Panhard passenger car was built in 1967. From 1968 on, Panhard has only made armored vehicles—the civilian branch was absorbed by Citroën in 1965, and the marque was retired. In 2004, Panhard lost a competition to another manufacturer of military vehicles, Auverland, for the choice of the future PVP of the French Army. This allowed Auverland to purchase Panhard in 2005, then a subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën. However, the fame of Panhard being greater, it was decided to retain the name; the PVP designed by Auverland would bear a Panhard badge. Car models Own models Models with Panhard technology Truck * Bus Models *K50 ZUFEM 8,000 kg *PTT (mail service) temporary office truck *Tractor unit *K63 bus Current military models of the French Army]] *AVL *PVP *PVPXL / AVXL: an enlarged AVL *TC 54 *TC 10 *TC 24 *A3 *Peugeot P4 *ERC 90 Sagaie *VBR: enlarged VBL multipurpose armored vehicle *VAP: Véhicule d'Action dans la Profondeur (deep penetration vehicle), VBL based special operations vehicle *VPS: P4 based SAS Patrol vehicle Vehicles in service Panhard has supplied more than 18,000 military wheeled vehicles to over 50 countries with a range of combat vehicles weighing less than 10 tonnes, as follows: * 5,400 armoured wheeled vehicles (AML, ERC 90 Sagaie, and LYNX VCR 6x6) * 2,300 VBL in 16 countries which includes 1600 in service with the French Army * 933 A4 AVL—PVP—selected by the French Army * 9,500 vehicles under 7 tonnes; most being jeep-like vehicles produced under the Auverland name. Gallery Image:Panhard Cabrio-Coupé - vers 1930 Pourtout.jpg|Panhard Cabrio-Coupé Pourtout Image:07.02.10-Panhard 24 1ct.jpg|Panhard 24 CT, 1966 Image:AMD Panhard 178 Saumur.jpg|Panhard 178 Image:Panhard - 1ère Eclipse, nov. 1934 Pourtout.jpg|Panhard Eclipse 1934 Pourtout Image:EBR cote.JPG|Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance 75 Image:French Peugeot P4 dsc06852.jpg|P4 Image:French VBL DSC00823.jpg|Véhicule blindé léger See also * ACMAT * The 1916 St Chamond tank * Panhard 178 * Panhard EBR 8 wheeled heavy armored car * Arthur Constantin Krebs, Panhard General Manager from 1897 to 1916 References External links * Musée des blindés de Saumur * Panhard Official website * Watch the Panhards race in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race (VanderbiltCupRaces.com) * Early history of Panhard and Levassor * * Panhard cars at Citroenet * D.B. Panhard racing cars memorial * Clement Panhard on the Web * Most active Panhard forum (french) Category:Companies founded in 1887 Category:1965 disestablishments Category:Panhard Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of France Category:Military vehicle manufacturers Category:Truck manufacturers of France Category:2006 mergers Category:Engine manufacturers of France Category:Companies of France